Cast shoe

ABSTRACT

THIS PATENT DESCRIBES A NOVEL SHOE INTENDED TO BE WORN OVER OR IN CONJUNCTION WITH AN ORTHOPEDIC CAST COMPRISING A FULL, RIGID PLATFORM WHICH IS THICKER AT THE CENTER THAN AT THE HEEL AND TOE TO FORM A CURVED ROCKER-LIKE LOWER SURFACE, A THIN RESILIENT SOLE COVERING SAID LOWER SURFACE, AND A SOFT FLEXIBLE UPPER, SAID UPPER PREFERABLY IS OPENTOED AND HAS TWO SIDE FLAP PORTIONS CONNECTED TO THE SIDES OF SAID PLATFORM AND BEING ADAPTED TO BE SECURED TO EACH OTHER OVER THE ARCH OF THE FOOT, THE INSIDE SURFACE OF SAID PLATFORM CARRYING A LAYER OF RESILIENT MATERIAL.

v E. EIGHf L I 3,566,487 I CAST SHOE Match 2, 1971 Filed-Nov. 12, 1969 v 9 INVENTOR.

LEROY E. BEIGHTOL BY fmmvllutfl ATTORNEYS 3,566,487 CAST SHOE Leroy E. Beightol, 7290 W. 90th St-, Los Angeles, Calif. 90045 Filed Nov. 12, 1969, Ser. No. 875,828 Int. Cl. A43b /00 US. CI. 36-25 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This patent describes a novel shoe intended to be worn over or in conjunction with an orthopedic cast comprising a full, rigid platform which is thicker at the center than at the heel and toe to form a curved rocker-like lower surface, a thin resilient sole covering said lower surface, and a soft flexible upper, said upper preferably is opentoed and has two side flap portions connected to the sides of said platform and being adapted to be secured to each other over the arch of the foot, the inside surface of said platform carrying a layer of resilient flexible material.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Various shoes have been proposed to be worn over or in conjunction with an orthopedic cast. For example, Larkin Patent No. 2,614,340 describes a walking cast shoe having a front flexible sole which terminates abruptly beneath the instep of the foot, a toe cap upon the forward portion of the front sole, and a pair of upper portions upon the sole having a lace for drawing the upper portions together upon the forward portion of the foot. Bronson Patent No. 2,598,217 describes an invalids boot which may be worn over an orthopedic cast comprising a pair of upper side sections and a bottom section, all formed of light flexible textile material, the pair of side sections being sewn together at the heel edges and the bottom section sewn to the sole edges of the side sections. The side sections of the boot have free front edges extending from the top to the point of contact of the upper side sections with the toe end of the boot sole. A relatively thin flat wear-resisting outer sole member is secured to the outer face of the bottom textile section. There are several difliculties with these devices. First place, I have observed that the sole of a shoe effective for the protection of an orthopedic cast and the contained body member should be rigid. The shoes discussed above have a flexible base or platform which simply does not absorb loading and shock. As a consequence, these devices are not acceptable for use on walking casts. If they are used for this purpose, damage to the cast, and perhaps to the body member within the cast, will occur. Further, even if these devices were rigidified along their bottom surface, they could be used on walking casts only wi h difiiculty and inconvenience as will be more fully hereinafter explained.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly, the present invention comprises a novel shoe intended to be worn over or in conjunction with an orthopedic cast comprising a full, rigid platform which is thicker at the center than at the heel and toe to form a curved rocker-like lower surface, a thin resilient sole covering said lower surface, and a soft flexible upper, said upper preferably is open-toed and has two side flap portions connected to the sides of said platform and being adapted to be secured to each other over the arch of the foot, the inside surface of said platform carrying a layer of resilient flexible material.

It is an object of the present invention to provide the novel shoe construction intended for orthopedic use.

More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel shoe intended to be worn over or "United States Patent 0 Ice DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Turning to the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the front and side of the novel shoe of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is another view of the novel shoe of the present invention in perspective and with a portion broken away for the purpose of illustration.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view from the side and rear of the novel shoe of the present invention.

Turning to the drawings in greater detail, in FIG. l-the rigid platform is indicated generally at 10, the platform is thicker at the center 12 than at the front end 14 or the rear end 16. The bottom surface of the platform 10 is covered with a thin layer of an abrasion-resistant resilient material 18. The flexible upper portions 20 are preferably joined at the rear by transverse member 22 and the upper portions may, if desired, be finished at the edges with piping 24. A variety of closure means may be provided. In the drawings, the closure means are provided by the shoelace 26 which runs in Zigzag fashion through eyelets 28. Inside the shoe and covering the entire inner surface of the platform 10 is a flexible resilient layer 30.

Many variations of the present invention are possible. The platform 10 may be made virtually of any essentially rigid material such as wood, rigid plastic or even metal although metal normally would not be used because of cost. The sole 18 is normally rubber but may be any of the conventional shoe sole compositions such as neoprene, crepe and the like. The upper portions 20 may be made of any flexible upper material such as canvas, cloth, leather, or any of the various porous synthetic upper materials. The inner layer 30 is preferably made of sponge rubber or flexible polyurethane foam.

In use, the shoe is simply placed over the foot after the foot has been encased in a rigid plaster or plastic cast. The preferred type of cast is that described in my previous US. Pat. No. 3,421,501. In any event, after the ankle, instep and arch have been immobilized by a suitable rigid cast, it is placed in the shoe and the flexible upper portions 20 are secured in place over the instep by shoelaces or by any other connecting device such as a zipper or the use of Velcro. The patient may then easily walk with a rocking-like action provided by the platform 10 which due to its being thicker in the center facilitates a to and fro type action which makes it easier for the person wearing the cast to move about. Another important function of the rigid platform 10 is that it absorbs the stress associated with the loading involved in walking. The cast itself is thereby isolated from such stresses. The cracking and disintegration of casts when they are subjected to the loads associated with walking has long been a problem in this art. These problems are substantially solved by the present invention and it may, therefore, be anticipated that the present invention in one of its many possible forms will find immediate and widespread application in the orthopedic art.

Many other variations in the invention are contemplated. For example, the shoe may have a closed toe upper and a tongue. The upper may also be made of a stretch material to facilitate the taking on and off of the shoe and to eliminate the need for shoe laces or the equivalent.

Having fully described the invention it is intended that it be limited only by the lawful scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A novel shoe intended to be worn over or in conjunction with an orthopedic cast comprising a full rigid platform which is thicker at the center than at the heel and toe to form a curved rocker-like lower surface, a thin resilient sole covering said lower surface, and a soft flexible upper, the inside surface of said platform carrying a layer of resilient flexible material.

2. A novel shoe intended to be Worn over or in conjunction with an orthopedic cast comprising a full rigid platform which is thicker at the center than at the heel and toe to form a curved rocker-like lower surface, a thin resilient sole covering said lower surface, and a soft flexible upper, said upper being open-toed and having two side flap portions connected to the sides of said platform and being adapted to be secured to each other over the arch of the foot, the inside surface of said platform carrying a layer of resilient flexible material.

3. A novel shoe intended to be worn over or in conjunction with an orthopedic cast comprising a full rigid plastic platform which is thicker at the center than at the heel and toe to form a curved rocker-like lower surface, a thin resilient sole covering said lower surface, and a soft flexible upper, the inside surface of said platform carrying a layer of resilient flexible material.

4. A novel shoe intended to be worn over or in conjunction with an orthopedic cast comprising a full rigid platform which is thicker at the center than at the heel and toe to form a curved rocker-like lower surface, a thin resilient rubber sole covering said lower surface, and a soft flexible upper, the inside surface of said platform carrying a layer of a resilient flexible material.

5. A novel shoe intended to be worn over or in conjunction With an orthopedic cast comprising a full rigid platform which is thicker at the center than at the heel and toe to form a curved rocker-like lower surface, a thin resilient sole covering said lower surface, and a soft flexible canvas upper, the inside surface of said platform carrying a layer of resilient flexible material.

6. The shoe of claim 2 wherein each of said flap portions are provided with eyelets for Shoelaces.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,423,354 7/1947 Van Hoesen 36--8.1X 2,598,217 5/1952 Bronson 36--2.5 2,614,340 10/ 1952 Larkin 362.5 2,810,213 10/1957 Jonas 36-1 PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner 

